How do you handle Holiday food temptations?

As the holidays approach, many of us will come face-to-face with a number of food temptations—from delicious turkey with gravy-ladened stuffing and mash potatoes, to the ever present holiday pies.

And just as one holiday passes, of course, Christmas, Kwanza, and Chanukah are right around the corner full of more food temptations--cookies, cakes, and delicious holiday meals.

Over the years, many of us have given into temptation and ate too much, generating guilt. Other times, we don’t feel like we ate enough creating feelings of remorse because we think that we missed out on the silver lining.

I know the prevailing theory is to eat a “regular” portion of food--enjoy everything you want, but only have a little of it.

But for me, this theory doesn’t work, especially during the holidays. There are too many varieties of food available, all of which I like!

Here’s a partial list of foods usually available on many Thanksgiving Day tables:

1. Turkey
2. Stuffing
3. Mashed Potatoes
4. Sweat Potatoes
5. Green beans
6. Butternut squash
7. Corn bread
8. Gravy
9. Cranberry sauce
10. Dinner rolls
11. Apple pie
12. Cake
13. Pumpkin pie
14. Mincemeat pie

Therefore, how is it possible to eat a little bit of each but not go overboard?

Therein lies the rub--for me, I don’t think it is possible.

So what’s my solution?

Here’s my 3 step plan:

1. Because Thanksgiving Day dinner is usually in the mid to late afternoon, I’m going to exercise early in the morning. Most likely, before everyone else is awake, I plan at least a 45 minute race walk.

2. I’ll be eating a small breakfast, probably my favorite, oatmeal and fruit. I won’t approach the Thanksgiving Day dinner table being so starved that I feel compelled to eat everything in site (which I’ve done before); or be so full that I don’t want to eat anything.

3. For me, exercising, or to phrase it better, feeling a little soreness in my muscles, helps me to keep my health and fitness front and center in my mind. Heck, I might even do some push-ups right before dinner. Does this sound crazy? Who does push-ups before a holiday meal? To that my answer is me, and why not?

Picture this: You’re in your best holiday clothes (although I’ve worn jeans while cooking Thanksgiving dinner several times), surrounded by friends and family while the delectable smell of oven-roasted turkey wafts through the air. Suddenly, you realize dinner is almost ready to be served and you discretely excuse yourself, go into an empty bedroom, and drop down and do 40.

You just might get the itch to do this or something else physical which should cause you to think twice about over indulging.

This is my plan. Surprisingly, I’ve never done Step 3, but I think it will work.

What do you think? What’s your plan for dealing with holiday food temptation?

Let’s learn from each other, because

After all, it’s about a healthy lifestyle!

© Iowa Avenue